As the author has stated in his reply, try to ensure that you are cutting a tiny tiny amount. You should be able to nearly see through the shavings, which will be just a few thousandths of an inch thick (unless using a scrub plane). As long as your plane blade is sharp, this is possible to do even with a typical Stanley plane that most hardware stores sell. Also, this may sound strange but make sure that your plane's parts are installed correctly. I've seen planes on display in stores where the plane iron is upside down or some other unfortunate thing. Planing efficiently takes practice - check out some youtube videos for additional tips.